BOYS
FAVORITE: No. 1 Folsom (26-1). Can't argue with the defending champions' pedigree. Their lone loss was to Monte Vista of Danville (23-3, two losses to state No. 4 De La Salle). Folsom won the Delta River League, the section's best circuit, with a trio of backcourt studs in 6-3 Kori Babineaux (14.2 ppg), 5-11 Tony Johns (17.1 ppg) and 6-2 Patrick Akins (11.6 ppg), and guards win high school titles.
CONTENDERS: No. 2 Rodriguez (24-3) and No. 6 Sheldon (18-9). Rodriguez came close to winning it all last year, with the emphasis on "close." The Mustangs won their first three playoff games by a total of 10 points -- including OT in the quarterfinals -- then lost 67-65 to Folsom in the final. They've won 16 in a row, though most of the wins were against weak league foes. Many consider Sheldon the third-best team, having lost to Folsom 58-56 a month ago. The Huskies went 3-1 at the Modesto Christian Holiday Classic and boast one of the section's best in 6-6 soph Darius Nelson (22.6 ppg, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists). It was the No. 12 seed when it won the section D-I crown two years ago, and the No. 10 seed a year ago when it lost in the semifinals.
DARK HORSE: No. 3 Golden Valley (23-4) is the "X" factor, lacking a signature victory. The Cougars average 70 points -- no D-I team can top that -- with 6-5 F John Sykes (17.2 ppg, 9.1 rpg) and 6-1 G Alex Fletcher (15.6 ppg, 4.8 assists) eager to run. GV got a good opener with 14-13 Kennedy. So why the dark horse status? If GV wins its opener, it will likely have to beat Sheldon and Rodriguez to reach the final. The section bumped Sheldon up a spot to No. 6 because it wanted Sheldon to face GV in the second round rather than Rodriguez -- believing both are better than GV. Can the Cougars turn that lack of respect into a playoff run?
MUST-SEE SEMIFINAL: No. 5 Merced (18-9) vs. Folsom. The Bears boast the section's top scorer in Allen Huddleston (31.6 ppg), who has high games of 50 and 48 points. The Bears would be heavy underdogs, but it would be great to see Huddleston firing away at Arco Arena against the Bulldogs' talented backcourt trio.
MISSED THE MARK: How does Johansen (12-14), a conference champion, not get a top-16 seed? The Vikings, 8-2 in league, aren't even in the "official" playoffs -- the section forced them into a play-in game Wednesday. Forget the nonleague mark, any seeding formula that doesn't reward a champ with an automatic playoff berth has got to be changed.
LOCAL NOTES: No. 8 Enochs (20-7) couldn't have hand-picked a better opponent for its first-ever playoff game -- its personnel can dominate Pitman inside and on the perimeter. 6-8 C Marcus Bell (21.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg) is the best true center in this bracket and be paired with 6-6 Scott Robertson for a big lineup, or 6-2 Thomas Richardson to go small. Bell's presence inside and the Eagles' cadre of 3-point shooters make them one of the few teams with a serious shot to upset Folsom. ... No. 9 Pitman (20-7) dropped two of its last three and fell to fourth in the CCC. It needs a huge effort from G Edgar Lopez (13.2 ppg) to get past the first round. ... No. 11 Turlock (17-10) got a bad deal when the section moved Sheldon to No. 6. It has a fine duo in 6-4 G Travis Souza (19.9 ppg, 6.4 assists) and 6-4 F Eric Wetzel (16.1 ppg, 11 rpg), but would have had a better shot had it been playing Franklin of Elk Grove.
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